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The Jews of America have declined in number to 5.2 million or less than 2 percent of the population. Politicians like rich people so you'd think that the fact that American Jewish households had a median income of $50,000 per year might give them more clout than the average American household with its $42,000 income (source: National Jewish Population Survey 2000-2001).

These are fairly misleading statistics. First, there is the comparison of average to median--which in a situation where income and wealth is concentrated is tricky. More important, the real influence over the political process comes from the wealthier Americans--note the word _wealthier_ not higher income. According to Morley Sachar's Modern Jewish History, Jews made up about 40% of all millionaires in the United States in the early 60's. The more recent popular book, "The Millionaire Next Door" includes "Russians" and "Poles"--most of whom are religiously Jewish- in the US as among the few large ethnic gro...

One thing after thinking about it, the attitudes attributed here to all Americans towards Israelis may be more typical of the attitudes of American Jews towards Israelis. What would attitudes towards US Jews be today if there were instead of 5.2 Million Jews in the US(and another number of folks with a Jewish grandparent or two that don't really identify as Jewish like Sen. Kerry from Massachusetts)-there were and additional 7-8 million Jews in the US? Israelis really do have different attitudes from US Jews-they are more militaristic and on the whole more moralistic.

Jews have played a major role in US immigration policy. The leaders British ethnics that founded the US pretty consistently voiced the opinion they wanted to keep the US pretty much as it was-and just didn't quite understand how profoundly immigration would change the ethnic mix of the US. Did Jews really want to see major Jewish immigration to the US imme...